Breaking Away from the Past

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Aside from being occasionally dragged off for tea and cultivation discussions by Wang Quan, Chen Jinshu spent most of her time cultivating in her small room and tending to the spiritual plants in her storage space.

A few days ago, Wang Quan had shared some spiritual items with her from the storage bag of the eight rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators they'd encountered.

Though not particularly rare, their combined worth was still around five or six hundred spirit stones—not bad at all.

An hour later, Chen Jinshu spotted a familiar mountain in the distance. She remembered seeing it the day she left the Vermilion Market. A red maple tree grew on its peak. It lay about two or three thousand li from the market.

"Senior Brother, will we pass by Vermilion Market on the way to Guanghan Immortal City?" she asked.

"Vermilion Market? It's a small place. The sect usually doesn't go that route," Wang Quan replied after a moment's thought, shaking his head.

As soon as she saw the doubt on his face, Chen Jinshu knew the answer.

"In that case, I'll part ways here," she said. "The task location is only three or four thousand li from here. I plan to stay at Vermilion Market for a while."

"So soon?" Wang Quan looked slightly regretful. "These past few days of discussion with you have taught me a lot. When you return to the sect, let me know—I'll make arrangements and come back early."

Wang Quan had realized through their talks how many gaps there were in his cultivation path. Chen Jinshu, after all, was a personal disciple of a Golden Core elder. Though her current cultivation was lower than his, her knowledge and direction were more precise.

"Thank you, Senior Brother! When the time comes, I'll be sure to visit Guanghan Immortal City."

Wang Quan escorted her to the deck, and under the watchful eyes of many sect disciples, Chen Jinshu flew toward Vermilion Market.

After traveling some distance on her Gale Gourd, she released Xiao YIn to replace the flying tool. This was a precaution in case any hidden enemies were nearby—using the beast would let her respond more flexibly. Now dull and grey-feathered, Xiao Yin looked like an ordinary large bird in flight.

Soon, she arrived at the maple-covered peak and caught sight of the red glow from Vermilion in the distance.

"I didn't expect the view from here to be so beautiful," she murmured.

She immediately directed the bird to fly toward the glow.

Two hours later, Chen Jinshu reached the outskirts of the Vermilion Market. A few rogue cultivators and family clan members could already be seen traveling nearby.

"I can't believe it's grown this much in just a few years."

She found herself lining up outside the market gates. Peering through the entrance, she could faintly make out a sea of people inside. With her family's identity token, she gained entry.

"Mother lives in the Jinquan Residence—should be in the southeast corner of the market."

Jinquan Residence was a rental property for cultivators, divided into several dwellings of varying grades based on spiritual energy density.

After a short walk, she finally saw the golden signboard for Jinquan Residence. It had been established by an outside Foundation Establishment merchant and had operated for 50–60 years. It was known for reliability and safety—rumor had it the merchant still personally oversaw the entire residence.

Chen Jinshu took out her communication talisman and activated it. Within seconds, a graceful, noble-looking woman approached with visible joy and urgency.

"Shu'er! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I wanted to surprise you," Chen Jinshu said with a smile.

"Come in quickly. This isn't the place to talk."

Madam Wu Shuya took her daughter's arm and led her inside. They entered a spacious cave-dwelling with a spiritual energy density rated as high-grade first rank.

"Why are you staying in this one? Aren't there higher-level dwellings? Some supposedly have second-rank spiritual veins."

"This one has a spirit-gathering formation—there's not much difference. The better ones cost two or three times more in spirit stones," Mdam Wu Shuya said with a pained look.

She had chosen a mid-grade first-rank dwelling because it was affordable. With the Chen family in chaos, she had no spare spirit stones for better accommodations.

"Mother, come back to the sect with me. With my status as a personal inner disciple, we can rent a well-priced, high-quality dwelling in the nearby market. Even Golden Core cultivators train there—it's far better than the poor spiritual veins here."

Chen Jinshu sighed. Her mother had little more than basic talisman-crafting skills—enough to survive, but not enough to afford more. She had gotten too used to the high-grade spirit veins in the sect and had forgotten how weak the ones here were.

"Wouldn't that be troublesome for you?" Madam Wu Shuya hesitated. She hated burdening her daughter.

"Not at all. I have my own courtyard in the sect, and the nearby market's dwellings aren't expensive. With my inner sect status, I could rent something five or six times better than this using the same amount of spirit stones."

"I believe you. There's no point staying in the Chen family. Thirty years of cultivation, and I've never even explored the wider world—it'd be a wasted life." Madam Wu Shuya gently patted her daughter's hand, her mind made up.

The Chen family had long lost its appeal—declining strength, dwindling resources. Her monthly stipend was only a few spirit stones, far less than what she earned from crafting talismans.

"Oh, by the way—do you know much about Second Uncle's engagement partner? I don't know what kind of gift to send them."

"You're asking the right person!" Madam Wu Shuya chuckled. "Your second uncle's taoist companion is named Ning Lingwei. She's no ordinary person—comes from the prestigious Ning family, a vassal clan of a major sect. She met your uncle while out training. He's not bad-looking either…"

Chen Jinshu smiled. She understood—both her father and second uncle were handsome, just a little less so than her mother. Many female cultivators in the Chen family had admired them.

Her second uncle was honest and focused on cultivation. She hadn't expected him to be swayed into marriage. Now she was curious—just how beautiful was this Ning Lingwei to capture his heart? Or perhaps it was something else remarkable about her?

"So spiritual items she probably has plenty of, but something heartfelt is more meaningful. I heard she likes spirit pets—she even has a pet mouse."

"She's kind and generous to her friends. She's helped me often. In fact, she's the one who arranged for me to live in this market."

"Spirit pets?" Chen Jinshu pondered. She had recently obtained a pair of green peacocks—perfect as a wedding gift.

Green peacocks symbolized loyalty and lifelong companionship—just right.